Friday, December 31, 2021

A number of women who believe they were tracked with AirTags say Apple's safeguards against stalking are insufficient (New York Times)

New York Times:
A number of women who believe they were tracked with AirTags say Apple's safeguards against stalking are insufficient  —  Privacy groups sounded alarms about the coin-sized location-tracking devices when they were introduced.  Now people are concerned those fears are being realized.



Indian antitrust watchdog orders an investigation into Apple's practice of mandating use of its own payments system for iPhone apps in the App Store (Manish Singh/TechCrunch)

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Indian antitrust watchdog orders an investigation into Apple's practice of mandating use of its own payments system for iPhone apps in the App Store  —  Indian antitrust watchdog on Friday ordered an investigation into Apple's business practices — in particular, the mandatory use …



This country is planning to build an 'artificial sun'

According to the plan, it will continue to improve operating technology in the field of KSTAR experiments, which are showing great results such as maintaining 100 million degrees of ultra-high temperature plasma (for 30 seconds in 2021), and will develop technology to maintain the temperature for 300 seconds by 2026. https://ift.tt/32MqzTq

Vivo Y21T price and specifications leaked online: Here’s what the smartphone may offer

Vivo is expected to launch its latest Y-series smartphone in India soon. The company has not yet revealed the launch date for the smartphone but it is expected to launch next month. https://ift.tt/3FKDHXV

This is how much world's 10 richest men added to their net worth in 2021

Led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's 10 richest people added nearly $402.17 billion (India has a forex reserve of about $635 billion) in 2021. https://ift.tt/3pFpzcD

All Ola S1, S1 Pro electric scooters from first batch dispatched: CEO

After facing a long wait owing to production-related delays caused by the global chip shortage, Ola Electric revealed that it has dispatched all units of its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters to its customers. https://ift.tt/32CdYCA

Amid pandemic, IIT Mandi sees top MNCs in placement drive

Even during the pandemic, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has witnessed some of the top MNCs in the world participating in the placement drive this year, Prof Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Mandi, said on Friday. https://ift.tt/3pJDGxT

SBI Card, Paytm join hands for card tokenisation to protect cardholders' data

https://ift.tt/3EFA0Bd

Realme 9 Pro appears on multiple certification websites, may launch soon

https://ift.tt/3sGATY6

How to get over Rs 4,000-worth Tomb Raider game trilogy for free

https://ift.tt/3mMgoVZ

OnePlus 10 Pro with 12GB RAM spotted on Geekbench ahead of launch

OnePlus is gearing up to launch the OnePlus 10 Pro smartphone on January 5 next week. The device is expected to be the first flagship smartphone launch of the year 2022. https://ift.tt/32DYeir

Philips TAH6506BK review: Value for money

https://ift.tt/3pFFVSE

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Research: Binance Coin (BNB), the third largest digital token by market value, Solana, and Fantom gained over 1,000% in 2021; BTC gained 65% and ETH gained 408% (Akayla Gardner/Bloomberg)

Akayla Gardner / Bloomberg:
Research: Binance Coin (BNB), the third largest digital token by market value, Solana, and Fantom gained over 1,000% in 2021; BTC gained 65% and ETH gained 408%  —  - Binance's BNB surged as Binance Smart Chain rivaled Ethereum  — Smaller alt coins also saw returns upward of 1,000% this year



China plans to become a global innovation hub for robotics by 2025; its manufacturing robot density in 2020 was 246 per 10,000 people, double the global average (Eileen Yu/ZDNet)

Eileen Yu / ZDNet:
China plans to become a global innovation hub for robotics by 2025; its manufacturing robot density in 2020 was 246 per 10,000 people, double the global average  —  Chinese robotics market is projected to expand at 20% through to 2025, when the government is aiming to double manufacturing robot density …



Xiaomi may have a foldable phone with stylus in the works

Xiaomi’s foldable phone could be named Xiaomi Fold https://ift.tt/3qCIuUJ

Realme GT starts receiving Android 12 update in India

Realme has now started rolling out the Android 12 update for its Realme GT smartphone in India. After stages of beta testing, the Chinese smartphone maker has finally released a stable version of Android 12 for the smartphone. The Android 12 update brings the latest features to the Realme GT along with the Realme UI 3.0. https://ift.tt/3eBqhBG

Xiaomi fined over false advertisement of this smartphone

Xiaomi has been reportedly fined by the Chinese authorities over false advertisement of a smartphone. According to a report by ithome, the company was punished by the market supervision department for violating the "Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China." https://ift.tt/3FGAicF

Social network Tumblr makes new changes to stay on Apple App Store

Microblogging and social networking website Tumblr which faced a years-long struggle with approval on the iOS App Store, has said that they have made fresh changes in order to remain on the Apple App Store. https://ift.tt/3z967Z8

Oppo Reno 7 may launch in India soon, gets BIS certification

Oppo recently launched the Oppo Reno 7 series in China. The series comprises Oppo Reno 7, Oppo Reno 7 Pro and Oppo Reno 7 SE smartphones. The smartphones are the successor to the Oppo Reno 6 series that was launched in India earlier this year. https://ift.tt/3HmFnHj

Pramila Jayapal slams Elon Musk for bragging about paying tax

After Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian-American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives, took on Elon Musk for not paying enough taxes and bragging about it, while Republican Senator Ted Cruz has also criticised the Tesla CEO for "looting" the country. https://ift.tt/3eCIS04

Six women who work at Foxconn's Indian iPhone plant describe crowded dorms and food crawling with worms, which sickened 250+ workers, leading to protests (Reuters)

Reuters:
Six women who work at Foxconn's Indian iPhone plant describe crowded dorms and food crawling with worms, which sickened 250+ workers, leading to protests  —  For women who assembled iPhones at a Foxconn plant in southern India, crowded dorms without flush toilets and food sometimes crawling …



Fortnite servers back online after major outage

Popular mobile game Fortnite is finally back online after a major outage that lasted more than six hours. https://ift.tt/3sKPTE7

Apptopia: Amazon ranked #4 in global shopping app installs in 2021, down from first in 2020, as e-commerce apps Shopee and Shein rose to #1 and #2, respectively (Todd Bishop/GeekWire)

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Apptopia: Amazon ranked #4 in global shopping app installs in 2021, down from first in 2020, as e-commerce apps Shopee and Shein rose to #1 and #2, respectively  —  Amazon's leading position in U.S. e-commerce is well-documented, but the latest global rankings for app installs show the potential …



Wednesday, December 29, 2021

These ‘best-selling’ home appliances from Samsung, Bosch, Whirlpool and LG are selling at 40% off on Amazon

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Top 10 most-played games on Steam this year

https://ift.tt/3mI1Pmy

Apple places Foxconn's southern India factory on probation following worker protests and an investigation that revealed substandard living conditions (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Apple places Foxconn's southern India factory on probation following worker protests and an investigation that revealed substandard living conditions  —  - Foxconn apologized for lapses in worker living conditions  — Apple has asked for corrective actions before factory reopens



Redmi K50 allegedly appears on TENAA listing, may launch soon

The smartphone is rumoured to come with MIUI 13 out-of-the box. Redmi K50 gaming phone is said to come powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor. For camera duties, the handset is said to feature four sensor camera setup on the rear. https://ift.tt/3FJWDWQ

Chinese AI company SenseTime raises ~$700M in a Hong Kong IPO, below its $2B goal after pricing shares at the low end, after delaying its IPO earlier this month (Jacky Wong/Wall Street Journal)

Jacky Wong / Wall Street Journal:
Chinese AI company SenseTime raises ~$700M in a Hong Kong IPO, below its $2B goal after pricing shares at the low end, after delaying its IPO earlier this month  —  SenseTime has developed strong AI technology.  Next, it needs to figure out how to make money from it.



OnePlus Nord 2 starts receiving OxygenOS A.1.5 update

OnePlus has started rolling out OxygenOS A.15 update for its mid-range OnePlus Nord 2 smartphone. The software update also brings along the security patch for the month of December. The Chinese smartphone maker launched the OnePlus Nord 2 in July this year and since then, the smartphone has been receiving monthly updates for the device. OnePlus mentioned that its an incremental rollout and will reach all OnePlus Nord 2 users soon https://ift.tt/3sEOKhB

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Xiaomi announces 6.28-inch 12 and 6.73-inch 12 Pro with Snapdragon 8, 50MP camera sensor, and up to 12GB RAM and 256GB SSD, coming in January starting at ~$580 (Michail/GSMArena.com)

Michail / GSMArena.com:
Xiaomi announces 6.28-inch 12 and 6.73-inch 12 Pro with Snapdragon 8, 50MP camera sensor, and up to 12GB RAM and 256GB SSD, coming in January starting at ~$580  —  After months of leaks and rumors, Xiaomi's 12 series is now official with two entries - Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro.



Amazon says it has updated Alexa after the assistant "challenged" a girl to touch a coin to the prongs of a half-inserted plug (BBC)

BBC:
Amazon says it has updated Alexa after the assistant “challenged” a girl to touch a coin to the prongs of a half-inserted plug  —  Amazon has updated its Alexa voice assistant after it “challenged” a 10-year-old girl to touch a coin to the prongs of a half-inserted plug.



Ant Group will close Xianghubao, a crowdfunding service for medical bills, on January 28, as China cracks down on fintech businesses (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Ant Group will close Xianghubao, a crowdfunding service for medical bills, on January 28, as China cracks down on fintech businesses  —  - Program to be shuttered Jan. 28 and cost sharing has stopped  — Move follows similar closures by peers earlier in the year



Overview of El Salvador's official yet controversial adoption of bitcoin in 2021, as many citizens have reportedly seen bitcoin vanish from their Chivo wallets (Scott Chipolina/Decrypt)

Scott Chipolina / Decrypt:
Overview of El Salvador's official yet controversial adoption of bitcoin in 2021, as many citizens have reportedly seen bitcoin vanish from their Chivo wallets  —  At this year's Bitcoin Conference in Miami in June, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced his country would soon accept Bitcoin as legal tender.



Walmart sued over 'improper' disposal of e-waste, hazardous items

Retail major Walmart has been sued by the California Attorney General and 12 state district attorneys in the US, over its alleged improper disposal of electronic and hazardous waste, compromising local landfills. https://ift.tt/3JnfTLI

Telefonica agrees to cut about 2,700 jobs in first quarter 2022

https://ift.tt/3FEu2ly

Vivo Y75 5G gets BIS certification, may launch soon in India

Vivo is all set to expand its smartphone lineup with the launch of a new mid-range handset. The Chinese smartphone maker is expected to soon launch the Vivo Y75 5G smartphone in the country. The smartphone was recently spotted on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification website. https://ift.tt/3eufCbF

Samsung Galaxy M52 5G gets a price cut in India

Samsung Galaxy M52 5G has received a price drop of Rs 2,500. Launched in September this year, the smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm processor and runs Android 11 operating system. https://ift.tt/3JmqsPk

129 VC-backed cybersecurity companies were acquired in 2021, shattering 2020's record of 79 deals, while $20B+ funding poured into cybersecurity startups (Chris Metinko/Crunchbase News)

Chris Metinko / Crunchbase News:
129 VC-backed cybersecurity companies were acquired in 2021, shattering 2020's record of 79 deals, while $20B+ funding poured into cybersecurity startups  —  Even in a year where few cybersecurity startups had problems raising money, a record number of venture-backed companies also saw exits through acquisition in 2021.



Monday, December 27, 2021

Samsung’s patent hints at a new foldable phone design

It seems like Samsung is looking to implement a third design into its foldable phone lineup, as the company was recently granted a patent for the same https://ift.tt/3mBNacq

A look at OneTrust, BigID, TrustArc, and others that help companies navigate the increasingly fragmented rules and privacy policies of the global internet (David McCabe/New York Times)

David McCabe / New York Times:
A look at OneTrust, BigID, TrustArc, and others that help companies navigate the increasingly fragmented rules and privacy policies of the global internet  —  Companies have sprouted up to help others navigate the varied laws around the world governing websites.



Samsung reportedly waiting for Google patch to resume Android 12 roll out

Few days after rolling out the Android 12 based One UI 4.0 update for Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Samsung Galaxy S21 series, the company paused the update due to several bugs that were reported by users. https://ift.tt/3puJevW

Ferrari signs deal with tech firm Velas to create digital products for fans

Ferrari has signed a multi-year accord with Swiss technology firm Velas Network to create digital content for its fans, the luxury sports car maker said. https://ift.tt/3Joqeac

Hybrid work is here to stay even if things turn normal: HP India Head

As countries reopen after navigating a long spell of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world will never be the same again in terms of people going back to offices -- even if things come back to normal -- and hybrid work is going to stay with us, says Ketan Patel, Managing Director, HP India market. https://ift.tt/3H9AmSg

Oppo A11s with 5000 mAh battery launched in China

Oppo has added another smartphone to its product lineup with the launch of Oppo A11s. Oppo A11s is launched in China with a starting price tag of 999 yuan (Rs 11,765). The smartphone is up for purchase in China and the company has not yet revealed the global launch and availability details of the smartphone. https://ift.tt/3esvA6e

Realme GT 2 series phone appears online, may be equipped with Snapdragon 888

https://ift.tt/3JlqqqU

How to check battery health status on Android devices

There are several options available. For starters, some smartphone manufacturers offer built-in features on their devices just like Apple. While some offer separate first party apps to run a complete diagnostic of the smartphone. Apart from that there are several third-party apps available as well. https://ift.tt/3puMkjt

OnePlus 10 Pro launch date officially revealed: Specs, features and everything that we know about upcoming flagship

Last week, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau revealed that the company’s upcoming flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 10 Pro will be unveiled in January. Lau made the announcement through his official Weibo account. https://ift.tt/3etsChW

How you can play award-winning action-adventure game Control for free

https://ift.tt/3mzvE8C

Sunday, December 26, 2021

10 tips Apple wants you to know to use your iPhone better

https://ift.tt/3Hc8n4y

OpenDAO airdrops SOS token for users of OpenSea's NFT marketplace; the token, unaffiliated with OpenSea, is up ~10x in two days as watchers debate its prospects (Robert Stevens/Decrypt)

Robert Stevens / Decrypt:
OpenDAO airdrops SOS token for users of OpenSea's NFT marketplace; the token, unaffiliated with OpenSea, is up ~10x in two days as watchers debate its prospects  —  In brief  — SOS is an airdrop from OpenDAO, distributed to people who have spent money on OpenSea transactions.



An overview of the efforts by Google, Apple, and Amazon to offer their technology and services for connected cars (Leah Nylen/Politico)

Leah Nylen / Politico:
An overview of the efforts by Google, Apple, and Amazon to offer their technology and services for connected cars  —  Leah Nylen is a technology reporter who covers antitrust and investigations for POLITICO.  —  When Ford announced that starting in 2023 its cars and trucks would come with Google Maps …



A look at sidewalk delivery robots serving students across US college campuses, an ideal proving ground with pedestrian-friendly designs and eager consumer base (Kyle Stock/Bloomberg)

Kyle Stock / Bloomberg:
A look at sidewalk delivery robots serving students across US college campuses, an ideal proving ground with pedestrian-friendly designs and eager consumer base  —  Robot 509 from Starship Technologies is both patient and skittish.  The autonomous machine, which resembles a Yeti cooler crossed …



Proxymity, a UK-based digital investor communications service for real-time virtual proxy voting and automated shareholder disclosure, raises a €27.5M Series B (Silicon Canals)

Silicon Canals:
Proxymity, a UK-based digital investor communications service for real-time virtual proxy voting and automated shareholder disclosure, raises a €27.5M Series B  —  Proxymity, a UK-based digital investor communications platform, has secured €27.5M in a Series B round of funding from an existing consortium of members.



TOI-GN Awards: Vote for your favourite gadget

https://ift.tt/3qqM0l9

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Berlin-based Pliant, which offers digital corporate credit card management and accounting software, raises a €18M seed led by Alstin Capital (Dan Taylor/Tech.eu)

Dan Taylor / Tech.eu:
Berlin-based Pliant, which offers digital corporate credit card management and accounting software, raises a €18M seed led by Alstin Capital  —  Berlin-based startup pliant has raised €18 million in a seed funding round.  The fintech offers a corporate credit card solution …



Chinese app stores had 2.78M total apps by October, down from 4.52M at the end of 2018, a 38.5% drop amid the government's new data laws and clean-up campaigns (Jane Zhang/South China Morning Post)

Jane Zhang / South China Morning Post:
Chinese app stores had 2.78M total apps by October, down from 4.52M at the end of 2018, a 38.5% drop amid the government's new data laws and clean-up campaigns  —  Chinese app stores had just 2.78 million apps in October, down from 4.52 million in December 2018 The biggest declines came this year …



Q&A with Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison: copycat features from big rivals have not impacted the company "in any real way" and making money is not a pressing concern (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
Q&A with Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison: copycat features from big rivals have not impacted the company “in any real way” and making money is not a pressing concern  —  The app was pegged as the future of social media.  After a lukewarm end to 2021, it faces an uphill battle to turn a profit



[Thread] For media and advertising, Web3's focus on decentralization and tokenization solves few, if any, problems and is the last thing ad tech needs (Ari Paparo Dot Eth/@aripap)

Ari Paparo Dot Eth / @aripap:
[Thread] For media and advertising, Web3's focus on decentralization and tokenization solves few, if any, problems and is the last thing ad tech needs  —  This web3 shit is starting to annoy me, so here's a thread with my opinions on the relevance to media and advertising. 1/21 🧵



Bitcoin climbs to $51,000, hits highest in more than two weeks

The largest cryptocurrency has advanced some 4% over the past two days and at one point reached $51,524 on Friday in Asian trading. Ether, the second-largest token, was near $4,100. https://ift.tt/3HeVsyD

Delhi: Fake call centre busted, 4 held for duping on pretext of sanctioning loans

Delhi Police has arrested four persons for allegedly duping people on the pretext of sanctioning loans. https://ift.tt/3sDSIqR

Boosted by localisation, Indian electronics manufacturing sector to touch Rs 7 lakh cr next fiscal

The Meity has proposed a PLI scheme of about Rs 22,000 crore to promote wearables as well as enhance incentives for IT hardware manufacturers in the next financial year as it aims to increase electronics exports from India by 50 per cent. https://ift.tt/3epA3qo

TikTok dethrones Google to become most popular website: Report

The rankings show that TikTok knocked Google off the top spot in February, March and June this year, and has held the number one position since August. https://ift.tt/32xODtg

Friday, December 24, 2021

Leaked screenshots of Android 13 "Tiramisu" show features like per-app language selection, runtime permissions for notifications, and lock screen clock layouts (Aamir Siddiqui/XDA Developers)

Aamir Siddiqui / XDA Developers:
Leaked screenshots of Android 13 “Tiramisu” show features like per-app language selection, runtime permissions for notifications, and lock screen clock layouts  —  Android 12 is the current flavor of the season as OEMs go on to update their skins with this new release as their base.



Privoro, which makes security devices for smartphones, including a case with intelligent audio masking and camera blocking, raises a $30M Series B (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs:
Privoro, which makes security devices for smartphones, including a case with intelligent audio masking and camera blocking, raises a $30M Series B  —  Privoro, a Chandler, AZ-based mobile security hardware company, raised £40M in Series B funding.  —  The round was led by Tracker Capital Management.



The White House invites major software companies and developers to discuss improving open-source security, starting with a one-day event in January (Andrew Martin/Bloomberg)

Andrew Martin / Bloomberg:
The White House invites major software companies and developers to discuss improving open-source security, starting with a one-day event in January  —  White House officials are asking major software companies and developers to work with them to improve the security of open-source software, according to an administration official.



Russian court fines Google ~$98M for repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in the country (Reuters)

Reuters:
Russian court fines Google ~$98M for repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in the country  —  A Moscow court on Friday said it was fining Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) 7.2 billion roubles ($98 million) for what it said was a repeated failure …



A look at Abu Dhabi-based AI startup G42, as sources say US intelligence officials fixated on CEO Xiao Peng ahead of its China divestment and Microsoft deal (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg : A look at Abu Dhabi-based AI startup G42, as sources say US intelligence officials fixated on CEO Xiao Peng ahead of its Chin...